Tether Bank Fraud Investigation to Be Looked Into by New DOJ Team: Bloomberg

It remains unclear whether the executives will be charged with any wrongdoings as a result of the probe.

Written by Shomik Sen Bhattacharjee, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 1 November 2022 15:12 IST

Photo Credit: Tether

Tether claims to have not discussed anything related to an investigation for "over a year"

Highlights

The probe focuses on Tether's controversial banking relationships
Tether says it has "routinely" maintained an open discussion with the DOJ
Tether remains the biggest cryptocurrency in the world

The US Justice Department is returning to a probe into a potential bank fraud at stablecoin operator Tether, as per a Bloomberg report, citing unnamed sources. The previous team of investigators did not manage to reach a definitive conclusion after looking into Tether's questionable banking relationships, which prompted them to transfer the case. Bloomberg had originally reported on a Tether-linked banking-related investigation last July. Since then, the case has largely gone unnoticed. The Southern District of New York under US Attorney Damian Williams is said to be taking on the investigation.

Tether, meanwhile, outed a prompt blog post dismissing the Bloomberg report stating, "This is Bloomberg recycling old news that isn't even factual." A representative for the firm said of any investigation that "[t]here's nothing new that we know of." It clarified that the US Department of Justice is not currently investigating Tether and that the firm was identified as a victim, alongside Bitfinex, in one of the lawsuits referenced by Bloomberg.

Tether claims that it has "routinely" maintained an open discussion with law enforcement, including the DOJ, "as part of our commitment to cooperation and transparency." The stablecoin operator goes on to state that it has had no interactions with the DOJ in connection with any investigation for well over a year and that "the DOJ does not appear to be actively investigating Tether."

Vitalik Buterin Is Happy the US SEC Is Rejecting Crypto ETFs: Here's Why

It is worth recalling that in 2021, Tether and crypto exchange Bitfinex settled a high-profile case with the New York Attorney General that saw both firms, owned by the same parent company, forced out of the state.

Core to that case was the use of Tether's stablecoin deposits to cover $850 million (roughly Rs. 7,030 crore) of Bitfinex funds held by Panama-based payments processor Crypto Capital, which had in turn had them seized. Crypto Capital founder Reggie Fowler pled guilty to criminal charges earlier this year.

Indian Tax Body Seeks Info on Tradable Coins, Mulls Levying GST

Tether remains the biggest cryptocurrency in the world with a market value of roughly $69.4 billion (roughly Rs. 5,73,993 crore).

What are the best smartphones you can buy in India under Rs. 30,000? There are a handful of options that we've discussed on this week's episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.